Young and Immortal
by kayla.m-r
Summary: Cory returns to John Adams High with a new teaching job after the Matthews move back to Philadelphia, but the hole in his heart from past experiences only grows until a familiar voice brings him home and eases his pain. / epilogue of Please Don't Leave Me and prologue of Keep Your Eyes Open. Read and review!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! I know in Please Don't Leave Me, I didn't really demonstrate Cory's reaction to the ending of the story thoroughly so I thought I'd do a one-shot about how he felt on his first day at John Adams! And you know what this means... After this, there will be a sequel. I can't say so much yet but I hope you'll like it!**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Girl Meets World, just the plot of this fanfic :)**

Fastening his tie, Cory Matthews stepped foot into a place he once would have considered his second home. A place where he asked his present wife to be his girlfriend, where he was worshiped as a hero for putting out a fire that he, himself, had started, where he stood up to the school bully numerous times, but none of that seemed to matter. One name kept repeating in his mind over and over again; Shawn Hunter.

Taking a deep breath, Cory carried his briefcase to the 8th grade hallway which he remembered so vividly. It's where he and Shawn created so many terrific memories together. He slightly laughed, remembering how they dressed up as women to prove a point. Veronica Wasboiski, was it? He wasn't quite sure, but one thing was clear to him; Shawn made a much prettier girl than he did.

Cory strolled past Jonathan Turner's classroom, relieved to know his former teacher was still teaching and that their classes would be adjacent to one another. Just thinking about Mr. Turner brought back memories of Shawn. When Chet Hunter ran after his wife, Shawn was in the custody of this English Literature teacher. They were just like brothers, even when their living arrangement ceased. They were close friends for years after.

Walking into his new classroom, Cory began to rethink his decision to move back to Philadelphia. Sure, it solved a lot of issues that lied within the Matthews family and took a great deal away from Maya's pain and emotional trauma from past experiences. After everything she went through, she needed a new living environment and needed to meet new people. Everyone needed to start fresh. And when they heard of all the crime taking place in New York, it was their natural reaction to get worried, especially since they had been a part of a huge crime scene in the city.

But along with all of the relief, it brought a lot of pain to Cory to be walking around the halls of the school he used to attend with his best friend. His favorite person in the world. They were kings, or so they convinced themselves. But when one of the kings steps down from the throne, the kingdom doesn't exactly rejoice. As many times as Cory tried to deny it, he just couldn't run away from the fact that Shawn was never coming back. He was dead.

Though he didn't have the energy to cry, Cory wasn't necessarily jumping for joy at the moment. Nostalgia rushed through his veins and he couldn't focus on his main purpose for being at the school. The kids would be flooding in for their first day of school in exactly an hour but he couldn't think about that. All he could think about is that the old, rebellious kid wouldn't be there with him anymore.

Suddenly, flashbacks of that fateful night came rushing back to him. He ran into Maya's old apartment to see her whimpering on the ground, hysterically crying over the loss of one of the greatest people in her life. Shawn's motionless body laid next to her but Cory couldn't even think twice about that. He had his gun fixed on Richard Daniels, the man responsible for the family's pain and who scarred a fourteen year old girl for life. Daniels shot Maya and then Cory shot Daniels, leaving the criminal dead and Maya in a coma. No matter what happened, no one could ever forget that night or that year. It'll follow the Matthews forever.

Cory never deleted his text messages with Shawn. He curiously unlocked his phone, just to see what the final message really was.

"Cor, I'm almost at there," it read from Shawn, referring to Maya's apartment, where all of the commotion was taking place.

Shawn really must have cared about Maya considering the fact that he was going to adopt her after marrying Angela, nevertheless the fact that he died for her. He died for her. Although he died a hero, Cory obviously wished he had never died in the first place. He wished that Maya came from a stable family and was still close with Riley and that everyone would be alive and happy together.

Aside from all of the death and destruction, there was some good that came from this. Cory and Topanga had the opportunity to welcome another teenage girl into their home and make her their official daughter. Riley wasn't as naive and was able to expand her horizons of the world. She really broke out of her shell and took on the world as the Matthews wanted her to. As for Maya, she was freed from her rough home life, even if it meant facing some things no girl should have to deal with at any age.

But all in all, none of the good took away from the bad.

"Why?" Cory muttered to himself as a sudden anger built within him. "Why did Topanga have to take the stupid job in New York, huh? Why did we have to meet Maya and why did Riley have to get close to her? Why did we have to go through so much stress just to have Shawn die in the end?"

He suddenly regretted everything he said. He loved Maya; in fact, she was the main person who helped him get through the loss of his best friend. She reminded him so much of Shawn that it was like he never went away.

"I didn't go away," a familiar voice rang through Cory's mind. "I'm still here."

"What?" Cory wondered aloud, looking around to find the person speaking. "Who's there?"

The voice didn't respond, but the feeling in Cory's heart gave him an unrealistic thought that it was Shawn speaking to him. He was telling him that he wasn't gone; that he was still alive.

"Bullshit," Cory spat. That's all it was. Shawn was dead and there was nothing he could do about it, so there was no point of getting some deranged hope that he was back.

"Hey, Matthews," said a different voice, but this time it was visible.

"Turner," Cory said, snapping himself out of this thoughts.

"First day, eh?"

In an instant, Mr. Turner's unfading Brooklyn accent in a strange way brought him home. It was like being a kid in John Adams High again.

"Yea, I'm ready for the little rug rats," he laughed.

"Hey, remember, you used to be one of my little rug rats," Turner pointed out. "And don't be surprised if a curly haired kid mistakes you for some senior trying to go all retro. It happened to me."

"Oh, I wonder who that was," Cory wondered sarcastically, remembering that day so perfectly. (He was the curly haired kid Turner referred to)

"Well, good luck," said Turner before heading out and closing the door behind him.

That's when everything began making sense to Cory. Although he was a teacher now, he felt at home seeing Mr. Turner teaching English at John Adams. That hasn't changed. It was different now, but that didn't take away from the memories.

The same thing went with Shawn's death. Although he would never physically be there with Cory anymore, he was still present. He lived through the halls of John Adams High and in the lives of all of the Matthews**. **He made history everywhere he went and no one could forget him.

"As long as you remember, I'll never die," said the returning voice. "Look around you."

With tears brimming in his eyes, Cory agreed and took in his surroundings. Everywhere he looked, he saw traces of the past he and Shawn had. Those memories would never fade away and would always be a part of him. Shawn touched his life in so many ways that it was impossible for him to leave. He was forever young and would be immortal in the Cory's heart as well as the hearts of every life in which he had touched.


	2. Announcement

**For anyone who followed this story and thought I would continue, this was only a one-shot. If you want to see the full continuation of Please Don't Leave Me, click on my profile and read the story 'Eyes Open'.**


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